Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com November 9, 9to5Mac reported that Apple has reached a settlement with plaintiffs in an AirPods patent infringement case.

Seung Jin Kim and Pinn Inc. have sued Apple for patent infringement, specifically claiming that the original AirPods, which went on sale six years ago, infringed patents related to their wireless headset technology.

Plaintiff Kim claims that he filed a patent eight years ago to solve the problems that plagued older, bulky Bluetooth headset products and invented a redesigned, re-architected hands-free wireless headset technology that made the headset smaller, lighter, longer battery life and designed to fit the human ear.

Kim conceived the idea for a "smart box," which he sketched in pencil in January 2015. Testimony shows that the version of the "smart box" in Kim's sketch comes with a speaker, LCD screen and a clip that can be attached to the lapel of a shirt.

Kim wanted Apple to pay them 60 cents in royalties for each AirPods sold, for a total of $42 million at the time. While Kim does hold two patents for wireless headset technology, Apple argues that the company's AirPods research and development work dates back a decade before the product was launched.

Jury selection in the case was supposed to begin today, but the court was notified that Apple and Kim had reached a settlement, meaning Apple had paid Kim to drop the case.

CTOnews.com has learned that Apple has been sued by Jawbone and Koss for AirPods before, and finally settled privately. Shortly after acquiring Beats, Apple was sued by Bose for headset technology and finally settled.

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